Jul 24, 2026
Business
World Foundation Raises $52.5M to Scale Sam Altman’s ‘Proof of Human’ ID
The World Foundation has raised $52.5 million to expand World ID—the "proof of human" system from Sam Altman's World—betting that verifying who is human will only grow more critical as AI agents flood the internet, the nonprofit said Friday. The initial token sale was led by Pantera Capital and drew Bain Capital Crypto, Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital, and Susquehanna Crypto, with all the WLD sold locked up for 12 months. The money will go toward bringing World ID to organizations...
Jul 21, 2026
Business
Worldcoin’s WLD Jumps 8% on Grayscale ETF Filing
Worldcoin's WLD token jumped after asset manager Grayscale filed to launch the first US exchange-traded fund tied to the biometric crypto project, moving to bring Sam Altman's eye-scanning venture a step closer to Wall Street. WLD climbed about 8% over 24 hours following the filing to an intraday high of $0.387, trimming a rough week that still left it down around 5.5% over the past seven days, per CoinGecko data. On Monday, Grayscale filed an S-1 registration statement for the Grayscale Worldc...
Jun 2, 2026
Markets
NEAR, Worldcoin Post Double-Digit Gains as Market Sees $714M in Liquidations
The crypto trend remains firmly in risk-off territory as Bitcoin slipped below $70,000 for the first time in eight weeks, but a few altcoins have defied this slump and notched double-digit gains. NEAR Protocol is up 15% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data, while Worldcoin (WLD) and Internet Computer (ICP) and gains hover near 12% and 11% respectively. Hyperliquid is trading near $73, down 0.7% on the day and around 3% from its record high of $75.46 formed on Tuesday. The token is up 125%...
Apr 17, 2026
Business
Sam Altman's World Teams With Zoom, Tinder to Better Verify Humans in the AI Age
World—formerly Worldcoin—unveiled a major World ID upgrade on Friday, introducing account-based architecture for "proof of human" verification alongside new integrations with Tinder, Zoom, and Docusign. World, which was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, introduced the World ID app as a dedicated experience for managing and using proof-of-human verification across the internet. The standalone application represents a shift from the company's previous wallet-integrated approach to identity veri...
Mar 20, 2026
Business
Eightco Boosts OpenAI Investment After BitMine's Tom Lee Joins Board
Publicly traded AI and blockchain firm Eightco Holdings (ORBS) has upped its investment in leading artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, making an additional $40 million investment in the firm behind popular chatbot ChatGPT. The investment brings its total backing to $90 million in the firm led by co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, accounting for 30% of its entire treasury. "We believe our investment in OpenAI represents a transformative opportunity not only for ORBS, but for our shareholders," sa...
Mar 12, 2026
Markets
BitMine's Tom Lee Joins Eightco Board as ORBS Stock Jumps on $125 Million Fundraise
Shares in publicly traded blockchain and artificial intelligence firm Eightco (ORBS) are up more than 15% Thursday following news that the firm has raised $125 million to continue its expansion into AI and blockchain. The firm earned commitments of $75 million from leading Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies and $25 million each from Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest and Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. BitMine’s Chairman Tom Lee will join the firm’s board of di...
Sep 8, 2025
Coins
Eightco Stock Jumps 3000% on Worldcoin Treasury Strategy, BitMine Investment
Eightco Holdings Inc. shares surged more than 3,000% Monday after the obscure e-commerce firm announced plans to build a treasury around Worldcoin—and secured a $20 million investment from crypto miner BitMine. The stock hewed to its Friday closing price of $1.43 in pre-market hours and closed at $45.08. It surged as high as $83.12, earlier in the day, a more than 5,000% gain at the time. “Everything the Foundation and Tools for Humanity have built has enabled us to be in this position,” Dan Ive...
Sep 8, 2025
Markets
BitMine Widens Ethereum Treasury Lead as ETH Stash Hits $9 Billion With Latest Buy
Bitcoin miner turned Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies has surpassed 2 million ETH in holdings, boosting its ETH treasury to a value of approximately $9 billion, the firm announced on Monday. BitMine (BMNR) now maintains holdings of 2,069,443 ETH, 192 Bitcoin (about $215 million worth), and $266 million in cash. “As we mentioned in our August chairman's message, the convergence of both Wall Street moving onto the blockchain and AI/agentic-AI creating a token economy is c...
Aug 1, 2025
Technology
SBF Loves Coldplay? Crypto and AI Leaders' Spotify Playlists Leaked
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has a playlist called “Repeat,” consisting of the same trance tune 60 times. Sam Bankman-Fried cries to Yellow by Coldplay. And OpenAI CEO Sam Altman boogies to Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliott. Well, at least, that’s according to an apparent leak of Spotify celebrity accounts known as the Panama Playlists. The site features several playlists created by tech leaders, politicians, and journalists—though mercifully no one from Decrypt. “I found the real Spotify accou...
Jul 28, 2025
Markets
Altcoins AVAX, OP, and WLD Climb As BNB Sets New All-time High
BNB set a new all-time high on Monday as it surged 7% on the day to a peak of $858, securing its place as the fifth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The cryptocurrency has since retreated to $851, up 6.6% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. It follows the announcement that a drug company is set to buy up $700 million worth of BNB, as the latest in the corporate crypto treasury trend. Alongside BNB's all-time high, other altcoins have jumped in value. Leading the...
May 6, 2025
Law and Order
Kenyan Court Orders Sam Altman's Crypto Project to Delete Biometric User Data
A Kenyan court has ordered Sam Altman's World project to delete all biometric data collected in the country, escalating global scrutiny of the crypto startup’s data collection practices. The High Court in Nairobi ruled on Monday that World, formerly known as Worldcoin, and its agents collected sensitive biometric data without valid consent from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) and used inducements in the form of cryptocurrency to obtain that data, violating the principle of...
May 5, 2025
Business
Indonesia Suspends Sam Altman’s Eye-Scanning World Project
World, formerly Worldcoin, has been hit with a suspension by Indonesian regulators, who allege the blockchain start-up may have committed a “serious violation” of its regulations. Led by Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, World offers users small payments of its crypto token (WLD) in exchange for scanning their biometric data via one of its Orb devices. Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Supervision, said the suspension was due to reports of “suspicious activity” by the p...
May 1, 2025
Technology
Sam Altman’s Eyeball-Scanning Crypto Project Hits the US 'At Last'
The promise of free crypto in exchange for your biometric data is now live in the U.S., courtesy of World, the eyeball-scanning project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. It announced Wednesday that it is officially rolling out its orbs in six major American cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. While it toured its orbs around the U.S. in earlier promotional efforts, it stopped short of offering full services stateside. The U.S. debut for World, formerly kn...
Mar 17, 2025
Gaming
Razer Aims to Eliminate AI Bots From Games via World's Identity Tech
Gaming brand Razer is teaming up with World (formerly Worldcoin) to help remove AI bots from online games, allowing human gamers to become the central focus of a gaming industry with increasing AI connections. The gaming firm is launching “Razer ID verified by World ID,” a new single-sign on feature that uses World’s blockchain-based proof-of-humanity technology to verify real human gamers. “Growing a verified community is key to fair play. To foster fair competition, developers must be able t...
Feb 28, 2025
Business
Billions.Network Launches Privacy-Focused Digital ID to Rival Sam Altman's Worldcoin
Billions.Network has launched a digital identity verification platform designed to offer a non-biometric and privacy-focused alternative to existing verification systems, including Sam Altman’s crypto project, World. The platform, which utilizes zero-knowledge proof tech, seeks to provide a scalable and secure method for verifying both human and AI identities. The company said more than 9,000 projects, including TikTok, Top Doctors, and World—previously Worldcoin—have implemented its underlying...
Feb 12, 2025
Law and Order
Brazilian Regulator Denies Worldcoin Appeal to Lift Ban
Worldcoin has been banned in Brazil after an appeal to the country's data regulator fell on deaf ears. The controversial project, which rewards users in crypto for having their eyes scanned, has faced a backlash from governments globally. Last month, Brazil's National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) had ordered a clampdown—fearing such payouts may influence consumer behavior. Its guidelines state consent to process biometric data "must be free, informed and unequivocal." Sam Altman's Worldcoin...
Jan 22, 2025
Markets
Sam Altman's Worldcoin Surges After Trump Teases $500 Billion OpenAI Plan
The price of Worldcoin (WLD) jumped 25% Wednesday to $2.40, leading the crypto market after President Donald Trump teased a $500 billion AI investment initiative around industry giant OpenAI. Trump said during a press conference Tuesday that a new company, dubbed the Stargate Project, will invest “at least” $500 billion in AI infrastructure for ChatGPT creator OpenAI over the next four years, such as data centers being built in the heart of Texas. Private-sector companies like OpenAI, Oracle, a...
Oct 17, 2024
Business
Worldcoin Rebrands as World, Launches New Eyeball Scanning Orb
Worldcoin, the project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is branding to ‘World’ and launching a new version of its controversial iris-scanning Orb. Altman, alongside Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania, introduced the rebranding and updates to its World ID and World App during a keynote presentation on Thursday. “We know it sounds crazy, but it is that Worldcoin as the name just doesn't work anymore,” Blania said. “Starting today, what has been called Worldcoin will be just called World.” Acc...
Jul 17, 2024
Markets
Worldcoin Soars 45% After Investors' WLD Lock-Up Extended by Two Years
Worldcoin's WLD token on Wednesday experienced a sharp 40% increase following the announcement of an extended lockup period for investors and team members. At the time of writing, the Worldcoin price has reached $3.13—marking a staggering 45% climb since this time yesterday, according to Coingecko data. This is the highest price WLD has seen since in a month. Tools for Humanity (TFH), a key player in the initial development of Worldcoin, revealed that the unlock schedule for 80% of WLD tokens al...
Mar 22, 2024
Technology
Orb Eye-Scanning Code Made Open Source by Worldcoin Foundation
Worldcoin Foundation, the organization behind the digital asset protocol developed by OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, said on Friday that it is open-sourcing “core components” of its Orb technology. In a move meant to foster trust and collaborative development, Worldcoin says anyone can examine the code for its Orb eye scanners. “Open sourcing typically helps to foster trust, transparency and verifiability while also encouraging developer communities to further advance a technology,” a Wor...